PGA Championship: Tigers Woods & # 039; search for 16th major yields an irresistible story

Watch the moment that Tiger Woods wins the 2019 Masters

The epic Masters victory of Tiger Woods was the perfect result for the updated golf schedule.

Certainly, the PGA of America could not have asked for a better background for the relaunch of the gentleman major in its new spring date.

Traditionally the fourth of the big four, in resonance and date, comes the PGA championship earlier this year and is Woods' first appearance since his stunning Augusta triumph.

It was a victory that breathed new life into the sport.

A month later, the expectation has increased for this week's American PGA meeting at Bethpage Black. How will Woods have it after his first major win in more than a decade when he takes on the formidable layout of Long Island?

This is the next question as the golf season gets underway. Woods returns to the scene of his 2002 US Open triumph encouraged by the presence of the green jacket back in his wardrobe.

It probably takes too much for him to make successive big victories. Heavy rainfall has already softened a brute of a par-70 track of 7,459 meters.

In a recent edition of The Cut, the BBC golf podcast, Sir Nick Faldo raises doubts as to whether Woods would be able to escape failed tee shots in the way he did in Augusta last month.

"He won't get that on Bethpage Black," Faldo said. "You hit him sideways there you will be in knee-high fescue."

The English six-time big winner also pointed to the spring cold expected this week in New York. Temperatures are predicted for the 50s Fahrenheit and Faldo believes that this counts against Woods and his infamous fragile background.

"For me, it's crucial again," Faldo told us. "He won in Atlanta in one hundred degrees and in Augusta it was in the eighties and of course it was hot and humid.

" He needs that heat on his back, I thought, "Faldo added

Nevertheless, Woods will be the center of attention as the world's best gathering on Long Island, his search for a 16th major is an irresistible story, although he skipped Quail Hollow a week ago for his toll restoration continued by his Augusta victory.

Last week, Woods was shown in an enchanting form when he played practice rounds on Bethpage prior to the chilly storms that hit the weekend.

Damp and boggy feet can play in the hands of Rory McIlroy – the Northern Irish who often thrives in harsh conditions and in PGA setups.

Inevitably the four-time great champion (two of them PGA's # 39; s) one of the favorites, but is defending champion Brooks Koepka who might have to report Although he didn't win at the Masters, Koepka put together another completed main show and showed great form on the Byron Nelson with a 65 last Sunday closing.

He successfully defended his US Open title last year and seems well placed to do the same with his PGA crown.

Time for the PGA Championship to stand on its own two feet?

For the tournament itself it is a huge week because it is looking for a new identity. It is no longer "Glory & # 39; s Last Shot" and it remains difficult to know how to characterize what is now the second Major of the Year.

It does not have the glamor or the roar of the Masters, it is not the most difficult setup, because it remains the US Open and it does not have the historical meaning and romance of The Open.

Yes, the PGA can take advantage of the interest generated by the Woods Renaissance, but it is still a challenge to stand on its own two feet. How can it be distinguished from other weekly stops on the PGA Tour?

The courses for the championship are difficult but fair and the field strength is the biggest calling card. Despite the traditional addition of club club professionals, this is the only major capable of bragging all the top 100 players in the world.

Only late withdrawal Justin Thomas, who suffers a wrist injury, misses

Perhaps it remains the most obscure of the quartet crowns that determines the career of a player. To incorporate the mantle of the real world moon, should it ever be taken around the world?

That would be the art but it remains an idea for the future. This week is all about supporting momentum collected by events in Augusta and the players are keen to play golf.

"It's a good time to try and get a little shape," Tommy Fleetwood told BBC Sport successfully hosted the British masters last week at Hillside.

"It would be fantastic to get into battle there. It is a great time to be in golf right now with the majors coming thick and fast."

So standby for the second episode of the main season. As the sign on the public course where the tournament is being held reads: "The Black Course is an extremely difficult course that we recommend for highly skilled golfers."

Seductively, all the best protagonists of the game will all be there. And they are inevitably hungry to taste a taste of great glory, especially considering how it was so beautifully exhibited by Woods a month ago.